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International audienceDoes Islamic finance constitute a promising solution for the current global financial crisis and are Islamic financial innovations enough to reassure investors, stabilize financial systems and provide them with a means of escaping from financial downturns? This article addresses these questions while investigating the dynamics of Islamic and conventional stock prices over the last few years. In particular, we apply Multivariate Vector Autoregressive (VAR) tools to test the interaction between conventional and Islamic financial products, and implement the Granger causality test to specify the dependence orientation of feedback between Islamic and conventional stock prices. Our article differs from previous work on the topic in that it develops portfolio simulations to determine whether Islamic finance can supplant conventional finance by generating investment and diversification opportunities during periods of crisis. In addition, we develop optimal portfolio strategies and investment proportions for conventional and Islamic funds to ensure the best resource allocation. Our main findings are: (i) the impact of the current crisis on the Islamic finance industry is less marked than on conventional finance, (ii) investment in Islamic products generates high returns, (iii) portfolios that include Islamic products reduce systemic risk and generate significant diversification benefits, (iv) the US crisis has led to significant changes in resource allocation through changes in investment choices

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E-leadership has emerged in virtual team literature as an important determinant of relationship building. However, the way e-leaders develop high quality relationship between virtual team members is little understood. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key roles that enable virtual team leaders to build high-quality exchanges with their team members. We draw on the behavioral complexity theory to analyze the roles played by e-leaders, which help them to develop effective leader-member exchanges (LMX). We draw up a research model to explain how e-leaders build cooperative and collaborative relationships through social-related and work-related activities. We then test the research model using a large survey of 193 virtual team members. Our findings show that, except for internal process roles (coordination and monitoring), open systems roles, roles of rational pursuit of goals and human relation roles have a significant positive effect on LMX.

<p>Recent research on virtual teams highlights the importance of high quality relationships to achieve high team performance. For research and development (R&amp;D) virtual project teams, relationships characterized by cooperation and trust are expected to enhance creativity and innovation among team members. The purpose of this paper is to identify variables enabling high quality relationship building in virtual R&amp;D teams and to analyze their influence on team performance. To this end, this study examines the effects of leadership, work organization and communication practices on the quality of the relationship between team members. The theoretical developments are illustrated through a case study of a car development project in a leading French car-making firm, PSA. Our findings show that dynamic and positive leadership plays an important role in enhancing relationships between team members. The results also highlight the importance of synchronous meetings and frequent and regular interaction to build cooperative and trusty relationships leading to high performance.</p>